How Vanessa Valera Nolte and Diego Valera are shaking up the houseware industry at Holstein Housewares/Distrivalto
Family Business FINALIST Vanessa Valera Nolte Diego Valera co-founders Holstein Housewares/Distrivalto Most 20-something-year-olds are still trying to choose a career path, but not the Valera children. Vanessa Valera Nolte and Diego Valera are unlike others. The young duo launched Distrivalto, a kitchenware company, in 2007. Vanessa and Diego are co-founders of Distrivalto and its Holstein […]
Terry Cunningham: Improving each customer touch point
How to reinvent your customer’s experience with CEM
How software visionaries and leaders Aneel Bhusri and David Duffield teamed up to found Workday
NCA Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Software Award recipient Aneel Bhusri Chairman, co-founder and co-CEO Workday, Inc. David Duffield Co-founder, co-CEO and chief customer advocate Workday, Inc. Upon graduating from Stanford University business school in 1993, Aneel Bhusri wanted to work for a tech company, and chose PeopleSoft largely because […]
How Mel Elias has built The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf to be a difference maker
Consumer Services FINALIST Mel Elias had a lot of worldly experience when he first got involved with The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. He had completed his military service in Singapore, graduated from the London School of Economics and practiced law in Singapore, before opening and operating a The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf franchise […]
How Michael Kosloske overcame tremendous adversity to build Health Insurance Innovations into an industry leader
Emerging FINALIST Michael Kosloske Chairman, president, CEO and founder Health Insurance Innovations Michael was probably thinking about being in the insurance business before he even knew what insurance was. Born into the third generation of Kosloske insurance business owners, he had developed acumen for the industry at an early age. After countless conversations around the […]
How Maky Zanganeh has been a guiding force at Pharmacyclics through its ups and downs
NCA Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Life Sciences Finalist Maky Zanganeh, D.D.S. COO Pharmacyclics, Inc. Pharmacyclics, Inc. focuses on the treatment of several cancers and immune mediated diseases, and developed a cancer drug that allows patients through a daily pill to treat their disease without the side effects of chemotherapy and […]
How Jim Schwartz has raised NPC International to be the world’s largest Pizza Hut franchisee
STL Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Retail Winner Jim Schwartz chairman, president, CEO and COO NPC International, Inc. The son of a Pizza Hut executive, Jim Schwartz did not anticipate he would become CEO of the largest Pizza Hut franchisee in the world with more than 1,200 locations in 28 states. […]
How Walter Driver and Scopely, Inc. envisioned a different kind of gaming experience
Media FINALIST Walter Driver, the CEO of Scopely, Inc., graduated from college with a degree in creative writing, a skill he says was necessary to envision a company as distinctive as Scopely, a developer and distributor of mobile apps to enable third-party game developers to build, retain and monetize an engaged audience. Driver saw an […]
How Ken LaRoe turned vision into opportunity and changed lives through First Green Bank
Financial Services FINALIST Kenneth E. LaRoe chairman and CEO First Green Bank Ken LaRoe thought he was done working. He had just sold Florida Choice Bank in 2006 and set out with his wife on a trip across the United States in a mini-motor home. As they traversed the country, LaRoe began reading a book […]
How Theodore Koenig went from lawyer to lender with Monroe Capital
Financial Services FINALIST After more than a decade of practicing law, Theodore “Ted” Koenig wanted a more entrepreneurial role as a career. He saw a market opportunity for an innovative, non-bank lender that was free from regulatory constraints. With his experience and understanding of banking, as well as his relationships with middle market bankers and […]